EPC Leigslation
EPC stands for Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). You are legally required to have an EPC anytime you rent or sell a residential or commercial property in the UK. This is also the case for holiday homes, park homes and airBnB properties. Once you have an EPC for your property it is valid for 10 years. THe official government website gov.uk, corroborates this advice at the following link: gov.uk/buy-sell-your-home/energy-performance-certificates.
There are different types of EPC, depending on what type of property you have. If it is a normal residential property you have then you are required to have a domestic EPC carried out, which we can carry out for you for a fee of £35. If it is a commercial property you have such as a shop, hotel or pub then you are required to have a commercial EPC carried out, which we can carry out for you for a fee of £150. If it is a new build property you have, then you are required to have an On Construction EPC carried out which we can do for you for a fee of £50
If you are thinking about ordering an EPC we recommend that you order it as quickly as possibly as a letting agent can not legally advertise your property on the market, until they are in possession of the EPC and the sale of a property can also not complete without an EPC. Due to this the EPC can often hold up the sale of a property or delay a lease commencing on a property. This can lead to both the loss of rental income and the loss of a sale. Hence ordering your EPC quickly is imperative. We usually turn an EPC round in 3 working days from your order. Once we have produced your EPC it will be available at Scottish EPC Register if you are in Scotland and England and Wales EPC register if you are in England and Wales
We are legally obliged to tell you that there are other assessors who can also provide you with an EPC and even though we provide fantastic customer service you are not legally obliged to use our service. EPC assessors can be found at the following link Scottish EPC assessor register if you are in Scotland and English EPC assessor registor if you are in England and wales. However I think that you will find that we are by far the cheapest on the market.Once you get your certificate you will all see that it is graded 'A-G', at present you are required to have a minimum score of at least an 'E' for both rental and sale purposes. This minimum standard is raising to a ‘D’ by 2025 and a ‘C’ by 2030. The legislation which sets these minimum standards is known as Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards or (MEES) and more reading on this is available at the following link on the energy saving trust website Energy Saving Trust article on MEES. We are also legally obliged to tell you that not making sure your property complies with said minimum standards prior to a sale or start of a tenancy may incur a fine.